(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to retractable roofs and vehicles therewith.
(b) Description of the Related Art
For example, Published Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-264658 discloses a retractable roof for a vehicle changeable between an in-use position to cover the passenger compartment and a retracted position in which the roof is stowed in a storage room of the vehicle to leave the passenger compartment open.
The retractable roof disclosed in the above published patent application includes a front roof panel, a back roof panel and a pair of quadric chains disposed on either side of the width of the passenger compartment. Each quadric chain includes a pair of opposite first and second link members that are both pivotally connected to the front roof panel and a vehicle body member to link the vehicle body member with the front roof panel. The back roof panel is fixed to one of the pair of opposite link members.
The above linkage configuration enables the retractable roof to change between an in-use position to cover the passenger compartment from above with the front roof panel and cover it from the rear with the back roof panel and a retracted position in which the front and back roof panels are stowed in vertically overlying relation in the storage room.
However, when the retractable roof disclosed above is in its in-use position, the pair of opposite first and second link members of each quadric chain protrude into the passenger compartment. This invites a problem of disfiguring the passenger compartment.
To eliminate the above problem, it can be considered to hide the pair of opposite link members as with a trim piece. In this case, however, the trim piece is placed more inward than another link member disposed inside the roof panel, which invites another problem that the passenger compartment space is narrowed.